Lehigh River (16-Feb-2016)

When I woke up this morning the ground was coated in ice and the rain was falling heavy from the sky. It did not look like a day that would be good for a clean-up. Instead I used this morning to draft e-mails for help on potential upcoming projects. One of these projects would be a thorough clean-up of a portion of riverside just above Lehigh Gap. I wanted some current photos of this area to attach to the one e-mail and this afternoon when the rain had finally rid the ground of the ice, I set out to get some. The rain was still falling when I got to the site and the river was swelling. With high water comes riverside trash being picked up and taken down stream. I saw many items pass by while I was standing on the bank. 

Can you see the large water heater or propane tank caught in this eddy? It was just circling around in the current. I will probably find it again somewhere down stream later this year. Nothing at all I could do about it today. That seemed to be a reoccurring theme of this outing. 

Looking down the bank I spotted something new and I was not pleased. I was there to photograph older illegal dumps and I found this trash slide coming down the bank to the rivers edge. 

I hiked up to the top and was sickened by what I saw. There was not just one new dump, but two. The majority of these items can't be recycled and right now it is trash that I don't have the ability to take out. The e-mail I was working on earlier in the day grew in urgency after finding this. I really hope I get the help I need with a place to dispose of trash like this from this site. If so this is something I could have cleaned up within a week. In the photo on the right not all of the items are new. Underneath all of the new ones are old TVs that showed up over this past summer. They were one of the things I set out to photograph today and I didn't even see them at first. I am sure there is something in these two piles that would identify who did this. If I thought the local law enforcement would do something about it I would pick through every piece to try to find who did this. I can't express how much this bothers me. I am trying very hard to take steps forward in making these areas better places and there are so many that just don't care and do stuff like this.

From that small rant above, I think you can tell I was a bit annoyed and frustrated by what I found. To process it and calm down I walked the bank and started filling my pack and a garbage bag. It did not take long to fill both, over the winter the river once again deposited a lot of recyclables on this section of bank.

As I was sorting the items back at the car not only the rain, but the clouds cleared and the sun came out shining. That was the best part of the whole trip. I found it humorous when I got home and tried sending the e-mail with the photos out. It was returned stating the address was no longer valid. I was then left to send it through a messenger on a website and couldn't attach photos. I really hope I get a positive response to it and soon. This area is my number one priority as soon as I find a place to dispose of the trash. I am also going to work on trying to get portions of this area blocked off to vehicles. That is going to take some time and cooperation from local groups and government. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash